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The mission, first established on June 3, 1770 in nearby Monterey (near the native village of Tamo), was named for Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, Italy. It was the site of the first Christian confirmation in Alta California. In May 1771, the Viceroy approved Father Junípero Serra's petition to relocate the Mission to its current location near the present-day town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Serra's goal was to put some distance between the Mission's neophytes and the Presidio of Monterey (the headquarters of Pedro Fages, who served as military governor of Alta California between 1770 and 1774, with whom Serra was engaged in a heated power struggle). The original site continued to operate as the "Royal Presidio Chapel" and later became the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo. "Mission Carmel" (as it came to be known) was Father Serra's favorite, and being close to Monterey (the capital of Alta California) served as his headquarters. When he died on August 28, 1784, he was interred beneath the chapel floor.
The Esselen and Ohlone Indians who lived near the Mission were taken in and trained as plowmen, shepherds, cattle herders, blacksmiths, and carpenters. They made adobe bricks, roof tiles and tools needed to build the Mission. In the beginning, the Mission relied on bear meat from Mission San Antonio de Padua and supplies brought by ship from Mission San Diego de Alcalá. In 1794, the population reached its peak of 927, but by 1823 the total had dwindled to 381. On November 20, 1818 French privateer Hipólito Bouchard raided the Monterey Presidio, before moving on to other Spanish installations in the south. The Mission was in ruins when the Roman Catholic Church regained control of it in 1863. In 1884 Father Angel Casanova undertook the work of restoration. In 1931, Monsignor Philip Scher appointed Harry Downie to be curator in charge of Mission restoration; it became an independent parish two years later. In 1961, the Mission was designated as a Minor Basilica by Pope John XXIII.
Mission Carmel has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. In 1987, Pope John Paul II visited the Mission as part of his U.S. tour. It is also an active parish church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Carmel
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